Early screening and intervention for mental health and substance abuse problems is important in preventing some juveniles from entering the juvenile justice system in the first place and in preventing recidivism or offense escalation. A statewide needs analysis to ascertain systemic, legal, and service delivery barriers revealed problems in 10 primary systems: (1) lack of a guiding philosophy; (2) use of the juvenile justice system as a "dumping ground" for juveniles with mental health problems; (3) juvenile offenders' learning disabilities undiagnosed or untreated in the school system; (4) lack of early intervention on the community level; (5) need for greater parental involvement and accountability; (6) need for treatment services in detention centers and community-based treatment services; (7) need for improved interagency collaboration and integrated, comprehensive service delivery systems; (8) insufficient advocacy for court-involved juveniles; (9) inadequate funding to localities; and (10) legal confidentiality concerns impeding interagency records-sharing and development of integrated data systems. The report contains recommendations in each of the 10 problem areas. References